


Filling in the Gap

by Licy4



Category: Mum (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 16:12:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19212958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Licy4/pseuds/Licy4
Summary: A look at what happened between series 2 and series 3.





	Filling in the Gap

**Author's Note:**

> The story jumps between the night before Derek's birthday trip and various events that happened to lead them to that point. Hope it isn't too confusing!

Cathy couldn’t believe she was nervous. She’d known Michael more that 40 years and she’d never once been nervous about seeing him. Happy, surprised, grateful and, more recently, excited. But never nervous. Tonight, however, things were different. 

Although, in the recent past, a lot had already changed. It had been 4 and a half months since bonfire night, since the night she’d taken the biggest risk of her adult life and bared her soul to Michael. And every perfect moment ever since she’d congratulated herself on an excellent decision. 

X

The fireworks fizzled out leaving the garden in darkness. Derek and Kelly cheered the entertainment. Michael dropped Cathy’s hand like it was poisonous. She snapped her head round to look at him, but as the rest of the family began moving past them back into the house the opportunity to discuss it disappeared. 

Inside, as everyone shuffled around getting warm, Cathy slipped into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Michael followed, hovering by the dresser.

“Listen, Cath, I might…head off,” he began. 

Her stomach dropped, “Oh. Ok.”

“I just…don’t think I’ll be able to make small talk when all I can think about is…”

The look on his face renewed her happiness and was enough to warm her body down to her toes, “Oh. Ok.”

“I won’t say bye to the others. I’ll just slip off.”

“No, no. I’ll tell them you had to go.”

He nodded, considering his next move, “Do you…do you want to get a coffee tomorrow?”

*Yes!* her heart screamed. *Yes, Michael, I would like to get coffee with you tomorrow and every day for the rest of my life.*

But of course what came out of her mouth, accompanied by a gentle smile, was, “Yes, I would.”

He nodded again, looking pretty pleased with how the exchange had gone. For a second she thought he might say something else or step towards her, but eventually he simply turned and walked away, leaving Cathy alone in the kitchen once again. 

X

As she pulled up outside his house she took a few deep breaths to calm the butterflies flitting around in her stomach. He appeared at the door instantly, clearly having been watching for her out the window. The plan was to go to the cinema and then back to his for dinner. After dinner hadn’t been discussed, but they both knew what was going to happen, what they’d been building to for the past few months. 

As soon as he slipped into the car, she knew he was as jittery as she was. He almost missed her lips as he leant across to drop a kiss on them. She laughed self-consciously, brushing off the atmosphere in the car and moved her hand from the gearstick briefly to squeeze his fingers. He smiled at her, squeezing her hand back, and settled back into the passenger seat for the short journey to the cinema. 

X

That first coffee had been awkward at first. Nothing at all had been said about the previous day’s conversation but the change in dynamic had been tangible. She obviously knew about the little glances and lingering stares she’d been throwing in his direction, but now that she was no longer hiding them she realised they’d been coming back at her from him too. They spent so much time just silently making eyes at each other across the table that both their drinks were almost cold by the time they got round to drinking them. 

That first coffee led to another, then another, then another until it wasn’t enough anymore. As they left Costa one cold, late November afternoon and were wandering slowly back to her car, she felt him take her hand. It was such a shock she’d almost snatched it back, caught off guard by the movement. But she steadied herself just in time. They still hadn’t talked about what she’d said to him or what it might mean for them going forward, but this was progress. 

“I’d like to take you to dinner, Cathy,” he said quietly to the ground, still holding her hand lightly as they walked forward. 

“I’d like that,” she replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. They walked in silence, hand in hand, the short further distance to her car. Stopping by the driver door, they stood face to face in silence. Cathy willed him to make a move and, for a brief, heart-stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. But instead he swayed backwards away from her. 

“I’ll text you,” he said quietly. She nodded in response and then without another word he was gone. 

Cathy sighed as she watched him walk away. Patience, she told herself, he’ll get there.

X

If you’d asked Cathy the plot of the film as the end credits started to roll, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you. The only things she’d been able to focus on for the entire two hours were the way Michael’s fingers were tracing patterns on her arm, the way his thumb caressed her knuckles and his deep, throaty laugh when something funny happened on screen. 

As the lights came up and people started to move, Michael stood and held out a hand to her. Making their way to the door, it moved to her lower back to guide her out into the foyer area of the cinema and onto the now-dark street. She leant into him and wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked back towards the large multi-storey car park. 

“Thank you for the tickets and the popcorn,” she said, “But you don’t have to keep paying for me.”

“I like paying for you,” he insisted, holding her close into his side, “Besides, you shouldn’t pay to have to put up with me.”

“I like putting up with you,” she assured him as they arrived at the car, turning so both her arms could wrap around him, “I really like it.” He smiled at her words, moving to kiss her soundly. She felt the metal of the car press against her back as they lost themselves in the moment, his hands running through her loose curls. 

“God, I could do that all day,” he breathed as they parted, gasping for air.

“We’d get lip strain,” she chuckled. 

“It’d be so worth it,” he replied, reclaiming her lips. 

“Michael,” she murmured, pushing him away, “I think I need to take you home before we get done for public indecency.”

X

With the onslaught of Christmas activities and a broken boiler at Jason and Kelly’s flat, it was the middle of December before Michael and Cathy’s dinner date took place. But finally, the day arrived and, through good fate or good planning, Cathy managed to have the whole afternoon to herself getting ready. And as Michael pulled up outside the house she was more than prepared for the evening to start. She restrained herself long enough to allow him to ring the doorbell and left a respectable amount of time before answering it, hoping to give the impression she hadn’t been sitting and listening for his car for the best part of an hour. 

“You look beautiful,” he managed to utter after they’d been silently staring at each other across the doorstep for far too long. 

They made small talk in the car on the way to the restaurant and held hands across the table in between courses as they reminisced about their shared memories. She laughed like she couldn’t remember laughing in years. He insisted on paying, dismissing any suggestion that they might split it.

Arriving back at her house, he moved around the car to open the door for her. Cathy waited patiently, allowing him to be the gentleman, knowing how important doing everything right was to him. He took her hand as they strolled up her driveway, silence once again reigning as they both faced the fact that the night was drawing to a close. 

“Thank you, Michael,” she said as they stopped on the doorstep, “I had a lovely evening.” She made no move to retrieve her keys from her bag. 

“Me too,” he laced and unlaced their fingers, “Listen, Cathy, there’s something I need to tell you. I wanted to tell you sooner but I didn’t want to spoil the evening.”

She tried to keep her countenance cool, but her heart started beating faster, “That sounds ominous.”

“I had a call from Abi yesterday,” he began, “My Nikki’s really struggling. With school and there’s a boy… I need to go to Spain.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, “You go to Spain all the time. Why would it spoil the evening?”

He looked up into her eyes, “I’ll be gone for a while. A few weeks, a month. I’ve already cleared it with work.”

“Oh,” she swallowed her disappointment, “Well, she needs you. You have to go.”

“I know. And I want to be there for her.” His words were sincere, but they were tinged with a second tone that implied that there was something holding him back. 

“I’ll miss you,” she told him softly, speaking the truth she knew he was trying to get at. 

He took a deep breath, buoyed by her words, “Cath, I should have said something to you a long time ago about what you... about what you said to me.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Michael,” she rested a hand on his chest.

He persisted, gripping her waist to steady himself, “Any moment I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. I would do anything to spend an extra second with you – clearing your shed, listening to Kelly talk about snoods, anything.” 

She laughed and moved forward to wrap him tightly in a hug, her arms around his neck, his moving to hold her firmly against him. He breathed in the scent of her, trying to capture every sense, every sensation to preserve him during their time apart. 

“Text me every day,” she mumbled against his neck.

“Just try and stop me.”

“When do you go?”

He sighed and pushed her away enough so that he could look at her, “Tomorrow morning.”

“Oh shit. That’s soon,” she gasped.

“I know. Abi wanted me to go today, but…” he trailed off.

“We had plans,” she finished for him. He nodded, tracing a finger down her cheek. 

She leant into his touch, “You need to go to your daughter. I’ll be here when you get back.”

He nodded again, tilting her chin up towards his face. Slowly, gently, he brought his lips down to hers, joining them in a gentle, chaste kiss. Almost before it began it was over and he was stepping away from her. Without another word, he was gone, walking down the driveway and into the dark of the night. 

As he shut the car door behind him, Michael breathed deeply. He knew he’d had to walk away when he did, otherwise he may not have been able to leave her. Turning on the ignition, his brain began the countdown until the next time they were together. 

Inside her house, Cathy sat down on the stairs. She lifted her fingers to her lips, where she could still feel the lightest of pressure from the kiss. She smiled to herself. 

X

Michael had prepared most of dinner in advance of the cinema, so all they had to do was reheat it when they got back. 

“Spaghetti Bolognese,” he told her as they entered the kitchen, “My speciality.”

“I know, Michael,” she laughed, depositing her bag and coat at the kitchen table, “I’ve had it many times.”

He froze on the spot. Despite how much their shared history fed into their present, he still did sometimes forget how much they already knew of each other. Of course he’d made her this meal before. He’d made it when she and Dave came round for dinner just after he married Abi. He’d defrosted a load the night Abi had left with the girls and Dave and Cathy had come round to keep him company. He’d even made some and taken it round to their house more than thirty years ago after the latest in a series of devastating miscarriages they’d suffered en route to having Jason. 

“It’s ok,” she told him, reading his mind, “I love your spaghetti Bolognese.”

He crossed the kitchen in two strides and enveloped her in a hug. It was an apology, a comfort and a promise. He hugged her for all the times he hadn’t been able to in the past, all the times he’d held back when he should have reached out to her. 

“Michael,” she said into his shoulder, “It’s all ok.”

X

She frowned at her phone. Since Michael left for Spain five weeks and three days ago, they’d exchanged dozens of messages a day, discussing everything from Pauline’s latest snobbery to Nikki’s progress. But it had been almost a day since she’d last heard from him. The little ticks next to her last messages stayed resolutely grey.

He’d missed so much over the last few weeks. Christmas, New Years Eve and the anniversary of Dave’s death had all been and gone in the time he’d been away. Aside from the messages he’d called her on those key dates, celebrating, sharing and grieving over the long distance. And now it was already the middle of January and she still had no idea when he’d be back. 

By the sound of things Nikki was improving. She’d completed her exams and the boyfriend had been dispatched, but the mind of a teenage girl was a delicate thing and Michael didn’t want to abandon her when she wasn’t ready. 

Jason and Kelly had been round earlier in the day and she’d been glad of their company. She loved her son and his girlfriend very much, but she was finding them much easier to bear in small doses than she did when they were all living together. It was as she was clearing away their lunch stuff that the doorbell rang. 

“What did you forget?” she was asking as she opened the door, expecting the youngsters to have returned. Instead, standing on her doorstep with a big bunch of flowers and a huge smile, was Michael. She let out a small squeal of joy and lurched forward to hug him tightly. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?” 

“I thought I’d surprise you.”

She stepped back into the house, drawing him along with her, and closed the door behind them. In the hallway, he carefully stood the flowers on the hallway table and turned to face the woman he’d been longing to see. Her smile told him the feeling was mutual.

“You’re so tanned!” she exclaimed, taking his face in her hands. She stroked his cheeks gently. “When did you get back?”

“Just now. I came straight from the airport.” He hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but didn’t. He didn’t need to. Cathy knew what it was, she could feel the emotion coming from him, the emotion radiating from her, at their reunion. 

“You must be tired. Do you want a cup of tea?” She stepped away from him to head towards the kitchen, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. His eyes intently on hers, he drew her slowly back towards him. She could feel her heart beating so hard in her chest that she was concerned he could hear it, but there was no such fear on his face. 

“I don’t want tea, Cathy,” he breathed, their faces now inches apart, “All I want is to kiss you.”

She shivered involuntarily in anticipation, “I really wish you would.”

X

Michael cleared their empty plates and piled them up by the sink, “Would you like another drink? There’s more wine in the bottle.”

Cathy tilted her head, “If I have another glass of wine I won’t be able to drive home.”

He felt himself grow nervous again, “No.”

“I’ll have to call a taxi.”

“Or…” he stopped. 

She stood up and stepped towards him, “Or what?”

“Or you could stay here,” he muttered, distracted by her proximity. 

She looked up at him under her eyelashes, “In the spare room or…”

“Well, you could, but the bed isn’t made.”

“Oh no.”

“So you’d probably have to…” he gulped, “share with me.”

She smiled and took a deep, shaky breath, “I think I will have another glass of wine then.”

X

“Please no, Cathy. Please don’t make me.”

“You said I could pick.”

“I know, but I thought you had more sense than this.”

“It’s my favourite.”

“Anything else. Anything at all.”

She chuckled, “No. You said it was up to me, so this is what I have chosen.”

Michael sighed, “I hate Titanic.”

“But you like me.”

“Hmm,” he pouted, “Not sure whether I still will after three hours of Leonardo di Caprio and his soppy face.”

She curled her legs up underneath her on the sofa, “Come on. Sit down. Let’s start before the food arrives.”

“Ok. Let’s get this torture over with,” he said, draining the last of his beer.

“Do you want another drink to help you through it?”

“Nah, I’d better not,” he replied, settling in to the seat next to her, “I’ve got to drive later.”

It was an innocent, factual statement and a perfectly reasonable reason for a rejecting a further drink, but it struck a chord with Cathy. She knew he hadn’t meant anything by it, but it triggered a feeling of guilt in her that she couldn’t avoid. Things had become more physical between them, the hesitation and trepidation of the early kisses long since lost, but they had yet to progress further. 

She hadn’t given it any consideration really, hadn’t thought it through properly, and they certainly hadn’t discussed it, but the fact was that she simply wasn’t ready yet. It occurred to her now, as the opening scenes of the film began to play, that he might be thinking about it or worse, getting impatient waiting. He was a man, after all.

“Michael,” she said quietly, turning to him.

“Have you changed your mind about the film?”

“No,” she smiled, “It’s just...one day you won’t have to drive home at the end of the night.”

He waited for her to continue.

“Just…not yet,” she looked down at her lap, “Is that ok?”

“Cathy, I am about to watch the worst film in the world just so that I can sit next to you on the sofa,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, “And I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend an evening.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, “Thanks Michael.”

“Shh,” he shushed theatrically, “Don’t interrupt Kate.”

X

The wine on the table was forgotten. Michael’s hand worked its way up Cathy’s thigh. Her fingers undid the buttons on his shirt one by one, exposing the skin of his chest underneath. 

“Cathy,” he muttered against her lips, unwilling to break the contact. 

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to…” he trailed off while he was distracted by her nails finding a sensitive bit of skin, before forcing his thoughts back to his question, “Do you want to go upstairs?”

She broke away from him, breathless, but without hesitation, “Yes.”

X

“Happy birthday, darlin.” He grinned from ear to ear as she answered the door to him. It was early in the morning, so early she still had her dressing gown on, but it was the only time they would have together on her birthday, so they had to make the most of it. 

Tomorrow night she and Michael would spend the evening together as a belated celebration, first with a trip to the cinema and then dinner. But first she had to endure Jason and Kelly’s birthday plans, which included a day trip to the seaside and a Chinese takeaway. 

He swept her into a hug, before dropping a loving kiss on her lips, “Do you want your present?”

“Oh, you’re not going to pretend not to have bought me anything like last year?” she teased.

“I can if you want.”

“Don’t you dare. Come on.” She took his hand and led him through to the kitchen, where he handed over a beautifully wrapped gift. Tearing it open, she revealed a guide book for Vienna. She looked up at him in confusion. 

“I’m taking you away for a long weekend,” he explained, bubbling over with excitement, “The first bank holiday of May. We go on the Friday after school and get back on Monday evening. Separate rooms, obviously. Jason and Kelly are away in Crete, so they won’t even notice you’re gone.”

“Oh Michael. This is too much.”

“Imagine it, Cath. Three whole days without having to sneak around. Three whole days where I can hold your hand without worrying someone might see.”

“That does sound amazing,” she agreed, hugging him tightly, “Thank you. It’s the perfect present. I love it.” Just then her phoned beeped on the kitchen counter. She reached out one hand to pick it up and read the message as best she could without her glasses. 

“Jason and Kelly are on their way over.”

He sighed but instantly stepped back from her, “I’d better go then.”

She nodded sadly, “I wish I could spend today with you. It won’t always be like this.”

“It’s ok,” he shrugged, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good day out.” He leant forward for a gentle kiss, before turning and heading out of the kitchen.

Alone again, her attention turned to the present. Here was a kind, loving, funny, strong, caring man who put up with creeping around in secret and being tormented by her family. Why wasn’t she grabbing the relationship with both hands and holding on for dear life? Why wouldn’t she do everything in her power to make sure he knew how much she adored him?

She grabbed her phone from the worktop and quickly dialled him number, heading for the front door as she did so to see if he’d set off yet. At the end of the driveway she could see him sitting in the front seat of his car answering the phone. 

“Cath? Are you ok?”

“Cancel the second room in Vienna,” she told him before she lost her nerve.

“What?”

“One room. I want to be with you, Michael. In every way.”

“Are you sure?”

“100%. I don’t know what I’ve been waiting for.”

She could hear him smiling down the phone, “Ok. I’ll call and change it.”

“Oh, and Michael?” she added, “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.” The suggestive tone in her voice meant that Michael thought of nothing else for the rest of the day.

X

Michael awoke to find Cathy scurrying around the room gathering up her belongings. He peered at his phone on the bedside table to find out the time. 

“Cath?”

She instantly stopped what she was doing and bestowed a big smile on him, “Morning sleepy head.”

“Are you ok?”

“Jason and Kelly are coming over soon to travel up to Derek’s party. I’ve got to get home and have a shower and finish packing before they get there,” she explained, locating her tights. 

Michael shuffled so he was sitting up in the bed, “Oh. Ok.”

She could hear the concealed disappointment in his voice and came to sit on the bed next to him, taking his face in her hands, “I would much, much rather stay here with you.”

“I wish you could,” he told her, his hands settling in their favourite position around her waist. 

“One day things will be different and we’ll be able to do exactly what we want, but right now I have to think about…”

“I know,” he interrupted, “You don’t have to explain. I’ll take whatever I can have of you.”

Smiling, she kissed him firmly on the lips, the intensity an outpouring of the depth of love, gratitude and respect she felt for him and the way he treated her. As they parted, she rested her forehead against him. 

“This is actually making it so much harder to leave.”

“Then stay.”

It was the first time he had ever asked her to go against her instincts and to take a risk. The first time he’d even inadvertently suggested that she might not put Jason first. And she was very tempted, so tempted that it made her realise that this situation couldn’t continue. They couldn’t go on pretending they weren’t very much a couple. 

“I can’t,” she sighed in resignation, “But this secrecy is going to end. I just need to work out how and when to tell Jason.” Even the most optimistic part of his brain didn’t believe her, but the conversation wasn’t worth having. Instead, he leant forward and kissed her again.

“Go,” he said, “I’ll see you in a few hours.” She nodded and wordlessly moved towards the door, picking up a rogue shoe on her way. 

Just as she reached the doorframe, she turned back to face him, “Thank you for last night, Michael. And for everything. Whatever happens, no matter what anyone says, I don’t regret a moment of this last few months.” And with that she was gone, ready to face the week ahead.


End file.
